The Appalachian League started on Thursday night and Elizabethton started where they left off last year. On Friday, the Gulf Coast League will begin. The Cedar Rapids Kernels began the second half of their season. Kyle Gibson had another terrific start for Rochester, but it was not the best start in the organization on this day.

Keep reading to see what happened in the Twins farm system on Thursday:

Rochester Red Wings 5, Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders 2

Box Score

Kyle Gibson improved to 7-5 and dropped his ERA to 3.01 with another strong performance. He gave up only an unearned run on five hits and a walk in seven innings. He struck out six. Blake Martin gave up a solo homer in the eighth. Michael Tonkin struck out one in a scoreless ninth to record his fourth save.

Chris Colabello continues to lead the offense. He went 3-5 with his 15^th home run. Chris Herrmann now has a 10 game hitting streak after a 2-4 game. Doug Bernier was also 2-4. Ray Olmedo was 2-3.

ASIDE – It seems to me that too many Twins fans are focusing on the fact that Kyle Gibson is not yet with the big league club. I would love to see him up, and I think it will happen soon, but I choose to look at it differently. He is a much, much better picture now than he was six or seven starts ago, and that, to me, is the most important thing.

New Britain Rock Cats 2, Erie Thunder 0

Box Score

Logan Darnell just keeps on rolling. The lefty put in the best start of his fine season. He threw a complete game shutout. He gave up just four hits, walked only one and struck out nine. He threw just 99 pitches and dropped his ERA to 2.61. (speaking of guys who need a promotion)

The Rock Cats had just four hits. Kyle Knudson had two of them. Reynaldo Rodriguez hit his ninth home run of the season.

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Ft. Myers Miracle 5, Jupiter Hammerheads 2

Box Score

Kennys Vargas no longer has the likes of Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario in the lineup with him, but he isn’t missing a beat. On this night, he was 3-4. In the last three games, he is 7-11 with three extra base hits. John Murphy went 2-4 and stole his fourth base. Candido Pimentel was 2-3 with a first double.

Matt Summers started for the Miracle. In five innings, he gave up two runs on three hits. He walked one and struck out five. Adrian Salcedo came on and struck out two in two scoreless innings. Zack Jones recorded his eighth save with two scoreless innings. He walked one and struck out three.

Cedar Rapids Kernels 3, Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 1

Box Score

The Kernels returned from the All Star break and made the trek over to Appleton, Wisconsin, to take on the Timber Rattlers. There wasn’t much offense, but Travis Harrison provided what was needed. His 12^th home run of the season was a two-run blast that proved to be all the team would need. He also added his 19^th double. Niko Goodrum was 2-4. JD Williams was 2-3. Max Kepler went 0-3 with a walk in his first MWL game.

Christian Powell won his first game. The right-hander gave up one run on four hits in seven innings. He walked two and struck out five. Caleb Brewer recorded his first Kernels’ save. He gave up two hits in two shutout innings.

Elizabethton Twins 3, Bristol White Sox 0

Box Score

This season, the E-Twins began with a home series against Bristol. Felix Jorge got the start. He struck out three in 1.2 innings before the rains came. There was enough of a delay that he did not come back. Tim Shibuya came on and went the next 4.1 innings. He gave up no runs on two hits and a walk. Dallas Gallant pitched a scoreless inning. Finally, Luis Nunez struck out three over the final two innings to record his first save of the season.

The E-Twins didn’t get much offense early. Bo Altobelli had two hits. Rory Rhodes had the lone extra base hit, a double. Tanner Vavra led off and went 1-3 with a walk.

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